Vic Chesnutt 1964 - 2009

All of us here at Brainwashed are sad to learn the news of Vic Chesnutt's passing today. Our hearts go out to his family and his close friends, many of them our friends. Constellation has posted an announcement on their Web site with the intentions of making more information public according to his family's wishes.
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Jack Rose, 1971-2009

Today I heard a most terrible lie. Today I heard my good friend Jack Rose had died. It had to be a lie, right? But there it was, on the computer screen, in black and white. Very plain, very easy to read. Jack Rose was gone. For some of you that will mean nothing, but others of you will certainly know why I am now so sad, why my heart is so heavy and filled with grief. Jack was one of a kind, and for those of us who knew him, there will never be another.
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Gerhardt "Jerry" Fuchs, 1974-2009

The staff of Brainwashed are saddened by the news of the untimely passing of drummer Jerry Fuchs. Jerry was close to many friends of Brainwashed and played in numerous groups including !!!, The Juan Maclean, and Maserati. We wish to extend condolences to his friends and family through these difficult times.
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Jim Carroll 1950-2009

The New York Times has reported that Jim Carroll died in New York on Friday at his home of apparent heart attack, according to his former wife, Rosemary. Jim made a name for himself first as a poet and his voice can be heard on some early Giorno Poetry Systems LPs, as a writer he's probably most famously known for Basketball Diaries, and as a rocker he's probably best known for the Jim Carroll Band hit "People Who Died," (which appeared in the film E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial) although he continued to play through the '90s with people like Lee Ranaldo. For more about his life see his site, catholicboy.com.
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John Hughes (1950-2009)

There's no arguing how influential John Hughes has been on most of the staff and writers of Brainwashed and we would like to take a moment to thank him posthumously for all he did for the world of music. The soundtracks to the films he either wrote, directed, or both were the templates for some of the best mix tapes that were passed around in the '80s and obscure little touches like the massive wall-sized Cabaret Voltaire poster in Ferris Bueller's Day Off get the big thumbs up in this corner of the music world. He also raised a great guy with great taste, John III, whose Hefty Records has long been a Brainwashed fave label from its inception. Our hearts go out to his family following such an unexpected passing.

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Charles Cooper, 1977-2009

We are all sad at the loss of Charles Cooper of Telefon Tel Aviv. Charlie went missing Wednesday, January 21st and was found on Monday morning in Chicago according to a report by CBS2 Chicago. Joshua from Telefon Tel Aviv posted the following on their myspace page Wednesday:
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Karlheinz Stockhausen, 1928-2007

The BBC has reported that Karlheinz Stockhausen has died in Kuerten, western Germany, on Wednesday.  While he was known as a composer, innovator, and irritator of many things, below is a picture as he was inducted as an honorary member of Coil, photographed in 2000 at Sonar in Barcelona.  When John Balance introduced himself to Karlheinz, his reaction was "Balance, all my life's work in composition has always been about 'balance.'"

Coil with Stockhausen

 

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Marilyn Whitney, 1943-2007

All that you see here at brainwashed.com I owe to my mom.

She brought me into a record store when I was four and I pointed to some 45s (Rod Stewart and the Bee Gees!) and she bought them for me; on my 11th birthday she brought me to my first concert (Eddy Grant!); from the time I was 13 until I could drive she would drive me to WMUA in Amherst where I began DJ'ing; and she was in the balcony at Brainwaves exactly one year ago to the weekend (the weekend before Thanksgiving).

She fought a vicious fight with brain cancer which sprung up out of nowhere in June of 2007. She withstood needles, IVs, surgery, chemo, radiation, and plenty of other medication which all had their effects and side effects.

She passed on Saturday, November 17th at 6:30pm EST in comfort, away from the hospitals, away from the needles, away from the people who would draw blood from her every four hours. She wanted out from the hospital. She wanted to be done with all the treatments and efforts.

I might be a bit biased but in all honesty, she was the most virtuous person I have ever known. Nobody, not even the people she didn't like, could ever say anything bad about her. She treated everyone with respect and decency and had a strong heart. It's no wonder that her heart was her last functioning organ which kept her alive through her final days.

Brainwashed will return in December.

Thanks for all your support and love
Jon

 
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In Memoriam Paul Raven

Drummer Ted Parsons (PRONG, SWANS, GODFLESH, JESU) — who has spent the past few days in a Swiss studio collaborating with French recording artists TREPONEM PAL on their new release — has released the following statement regarding legendary bassist Paul Raven's (MINISTRY, KILLING JOKE) passing:

"It deeply saddens me to tell you that legendary bass player and friend Paul Raven died yesterday morning of a heart failure in Geneva, Switzerland at around 6:00 a.m.

"Paul and myself were invited to play on the new TREPONEM PAL album in Geneva for a week. After a long day of recording, the band went out for drinks to celebrate Paul's arrival and reminisce. We then went back to the house we were staying and I went to bed the other guys stayed up.

"I found Raven asleep in a chair the next morning in the living room. I thought nothing of it as Raven would sleep like this on the tour bus in the front lounge all the time. Then I looked closer at him and he looked very gray. I checked his pulse and there was none. I yelled for the other guys in the band. We immediately did some CPR and called for an ambulance. Medics arrived quickly but after an hour of trying to get his heart beat back they could not save him. They said he died in his sleep probably around 6 a.m. It was then 9:30 a.m.

"Marco and myself have been contacting his family all day yesterday. I'm assuming a funeral service will be held in Wolverhampton, UK where his family live and his birthplace.

"We made a lot of great music together.

"Words can't describe how I feel right now. I'm devastated.

"He will be missed by many.

"He was the king of the one-liners.

"Please send Raven and his family love and light."

Born in Wolverhampton, UK on January 16, 1961, Paul Vincent Raven established himself with his work in the seminal post-punk/industrial act KILLING JOKE after he replaced the band's original bassist in 1982, recording and touring with the group throughout its most commercially successful period, performing on "Fire Dances", "Night Time" and "Brighter than a Thousand Suns". Throughout his extensive career, Raven participated in other collaborations, including PRONG, MURDER, INC., PIGFACE and GODFLESH. Most recently, Raven was nominated for a 2006 Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" for his work with MINISTRY's Al Jourgensen, with whom he had begun collaborating in late 2005 on the MINISTRY release "Rio Grande Blood". After a 2006 world tour with the group, Raven helped Jourgensen and PRONG's Tommy Victor pen the latest MINISTRY CD, "The Last Sucker", which is also the band's final studio release.

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In Memoriam: Lady Jaye

Brainwashed sends our deepest condolences to Genesis Breyer P-Orridge following the untimely passing of his partner, Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge. She was a member of the newly formed PTV3 and an immeasurable inspiration to Genesis. All North American PTV3 dates are now cancelled.
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Tony Wilson, 1950-2007

Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records, lost his battle with kidney cancer Friday, August 10th, 2007. Wilson began his career as a news reporter in Manchester and eventually hosted a music and culture program called So It Goes. He is most famous for launching Factory Records the Haçienda nightlub in Manchester. He was 57.
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Textile Founder Loses His Battle With Cancer

We are very sad to report that the founder of Textile Records, Benoit Sonnette, has lost his battle with cancer on Monday at the young age of 32. Textile Records has released music from some excellent artists including brainwashed acts Volcano The Bear and The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden, as well as Park Attack, released here in the USA by Badabing! Benoit leaves behind a wife and young son.
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Faust founder Uwe Nettelbeck dies

Uwe Nettelbeck died on the 17th January 2007. As well as being a journalist, he also founded the legendary Faust in 1968, a year that marked the beginning of Germany's musical revolution and a decade of terrorism. Our heartfelt condolences are offered to his friends and family.
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RAW RIP

It was reported on his blog today that Robert Anton Wilson died early Thursday morning, less than one week before his 75th birthday. He was also a major influence on a number of classic Brainwashed acts including Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and Greater Than One.
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James Brown Is Dead

L.A. Style called it 15 years too early but while everybody was sleeping early on Christmas morning, the Godfather of Soul, Soul Brotha #1 passed away. James Brown is most famously known for only two songs according to all the racist oldies radio stations across the USA but had a string of far better funk jams in the '70s like "Mother Popcorn," "King Heroin," "The Payback," "Super Bad," "Brother Rapp/Ain't It Funky Now," and the endlessly sampled "Funky Drummer." James Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia on Sunday.  He was 73.
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Arthur Lee Dead

We are sad to report that Arthur Lee—the legendary and controversial frontman of the band Love—passed away in the hospital Thursday afternoon with his wife Diane by his side.  He was 61, and died of complications resulting from leukemia.  
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Syd Barrett, Dead at 60

BBC News has reported that Syd Barrett, singer, guitarist, and founder of Pink Floyd has died of complications from diabetes. Syd has been influential to a number of Brainwashed's artists and his work as an outsider artist is admired by many of our staff and contributors. Our respect to family and friends.
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Grant McLennan, 1958-2006

Grant McLennan, singer of the Go Betweens, died in his sleep on Saturday, May 6th at his home in Brisbane, Australia.
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Derek Bailey, 1930-2005

Unconfirmed reports have come in stating that Derek Bailey passed away yesterday (Christmas Day, 2005) in Spain.

Bailey, born in Sheffield, England began his career as a guitarist from a young age, and is most known for his free improvisation style.
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Tragedy strikes Japanese Avant Rock band DMBQ

We are sad to report tragedy has struck DMBQ. According to Todd P, "DMBQ’s van rolled from I-95 in Delaware en route from Baltimore to Brooklyn on Friday afternoon. All members of the band have been hospitalized, as well as Michelle Cable from Panache Magazine and booking, who has been managing their tour. Mana "China" Nishiura did not survive the accident. China was DMBQ's drummer, as well as a former drummer in Shonen Knife. China will be missed.
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